2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Wittmier
A German surname derived from the place name Wittmar, meaning "home of the Wits".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Wittmier. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wittmier surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Wittmier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wittmier, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wittmier
The surname Wittmier finds its origins in Germany, likely arising in the medieval period. Wittmier is believed to be a topographic surname, derived from Middle High German words, potentially incorporating "wiht" meaning "knight" or "warrior" and "maere" meaning "lake" or "pond". The name could have referred to someone living by a knight's pond or lake or a notable landmark in a particular region.
The name Wittmier, or its variations, would first have appeared in written records during the late medieval period when surnames became more frequently documented. References in old records could involve local church registries or landowner documents. There is no specific mention of Wittmier in early famous manuscripts like the Domesday Book, which was centered on England, but German equivalents such as the Steuerbücher or Urkunden would be the types of documents to contain early occurrences of the surname.
The earliest instances of the surname Wittmier can be traced back to land records and parish registers from regions such as Lower Saxony or Westphalia in Germany. A notable early example includes Johannes Wittmier, documented in the Hanseatic League city of Hamburg around 1483, indicating the name's presence in commercial hubs.
In the 17th century, there was Christopher Wittmier, a figure identified in Brandenburg archives around 1657, involving land transactions and local politics. This suggests the family might have held some local influence or property. Around the same period, another Wittmier, Matilda Wittmier, was recorded in records from Bremen around 1692, who was noted as a benefactor to local religious institutions.
In the 18th century, Karl Friedrich Wittmier, born in 1734 and died 1799, emerged as a notable figure documented in the university archives of Göttingen. He was a scholar and contributed to early German scientific literature, indicating that bearers of the name had moved into educational and intellectual circles by this period.
Moving into the 19th century, Wilhelm Wittmier was an industrialist born in 1822, who played a significant role in the development of textile industries in Saxony. His contributions to local economy and philanthropy are recorded in municipal documents and local history books, revealing the name's enduring significance through multiple generations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wittmier
Among Census respondents with the surname Wittmier, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Wittmier bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Wittmier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 114
- Two or more races4.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wittmier
Wittmier appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+13 bearers (+12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,690 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,631 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.3%) | Up 3,690 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 2,631 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Wittmier surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #140,157 | #142,788 | -1.9% |
| Count | 119 | 119 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wittmier bearers went from 119 to 119 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 2,631 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #142,788.
FAQ
Wittmier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wittmier?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Wittmier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Wittmier?
Wittmier ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 119 people with the surname Wittmier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Wittmier.
Has Wittmier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wittmier went from 119 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Wittmier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wittmier, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Wittmier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wittmier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Wittmier (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Wittmier mean?
A German surname derived from the place name Wittmar, meaning "home of the Wits". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Wittmier (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Wittmier?
You can see how many people have the last name Wittmier on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.